As I sat down to begin my Quiet Time (QT), I did what I always do first. I pray. But something happened this time as I prayed. A song came to mind. A song from way back in my childhood memories. It would have been called a hymn back then but I wouldn’t call it that. I see it as a spiritual song. “Psalms, hymns and spiritual songs” as Ephesians 4:19 puts it. A psalm is…well…a psalm. A hymn is an anthem of praise (like Great is Thy Faithfulness or How Great Thou Art). A spiritual song is a song with a spiritual meaning. You may consider that nit-picky but I had my say. 🙂 Okay…now that I’ve taken that rabbit trail reign me back in. 🙂
As I sat and prayed these words flooded my mind: “Open my eyes that I may see/Glimpses of truth Thou has for me/Place in my hands the wonderful key/That shall unclasp and set me free/Silently now I wait for Thee/Ready my God Thy will to see/Open my eyes illumine me/Spirit divine.”
Not always do I approach my QT with an awareness of readiness to hear. More than I care to admit, my time is one of hurriedness and harriedness, (Yeah, I know my spell check is telling me those are not words…but what does it know?). One of obligation. But today was different. It was like God was saying, “Slow down Bill. Don’t be in a hurry this morning. Push aside your sermon agenda for a few minutes and be with Me. Stop hurrying and being harried and stop and listen.”
Then I read from Acts 1. The apostles found themselves in the same boat. Jesus told them to stay in Jerusalem. “Do not leave” is what He told them. After Jesus ascended they returned to the upper room they had been in and waited. Can you imagine what they would have missed if they had gotten impatient? If one of them had said, “This is nonsense. I’m heading into town for some carry-out.” What a monumental “Epic Fail” that would have been!
How often do I miss out because I don’t wait? Won’t wait? “Silently now I wait for Thee/Ready my God Thy will to see.”
Perhaps it is time to slow down and listen.
“‘Speak, Father, for Your servant listens’ is what Eli told Samuel to say. Those are words I want to repeat right here, right now: ‘Speak, Lord, Your servant is listening.’ “
Good Morning, Bill. I never heard that song but precious are the lyrics. May I, too, have listening ears this morning. Thank You, Abba, for waiting for me.
Chris Tomlin sang it originally. Pat Barret wrote it with another guy but Chris made it #1. it is a good song.
Waiting is not a strong suit of mine… Though, I recognize it’s importance.
Join my club Ryan! 🙂
I do believe God wants us all to slow down and simply spend time with Him. I must admit, I, too, can get hurried and harried in the day to day. Lord, help us all to wait for You!
Blessings, Bill!
Thanks for the comment Martha and the admission. I think we would all say “been there done that” when pressed.